


give an inch run a mile

by itsrosencrantz



Series: Syldue Modern AU bits and bobs [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Modern AU, meet cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:21:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29273145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsrosencrantz/pseuds/itsrosencrantz
Summary: Sometimes, persistence really does pay off.
Relationships: Sylvain Jose Gautier/Dedue Molinaro
Series: Syldue Modern AU bits and bobs [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2149728
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	give an inch run a mile

**Author's Note:**

> A pinch hit for ricenudles on Twitter for Nagamas 2020! Syldue is one of my beloved rarepairs, and I've wanted to explore a little more of their modern AU relationship, so I thought I'd write how I imagined it beginning. I hope you enjoy!

Dedue hasn't lived in Garreg Mach long, but he likes it. The city is both smaller than he expected and bigger than the town he came from, and moving through it to establish a place in it among strangers has been a challenge. Not one he is unequal to - he wouldn't have struck out on his own if he thought he couldn't make something of himself, not at risk of burdening his family - but the transition period has been rough. He's not a man of many words even when he is around people he's comfortable with, and it's been far too easy to put off setting up the rest of his life while he managed getting his restaurant off the ground. He's been here for three months and the only people he knows by name are the night cashier at the little family-owned grocery store, his staff, and his suppliers. 

It's time for that to change.

The first step has been pulling back from work. He's still there every morning to open the kitchen, but he's trained his staff well and once the lunch rush is through for the day, he's been making it a habit to head home and work on making it into just that: home. He begins by unpacking more than the essentials; pictures of his family go up on the walls, his father's knitted blanket gets draped over the back of his secondhand sofa in its customary place. His sister's pottery goes out on the patio, and a trip to the local thrift market nets him a wooden shelf with decent bones that he sands down, repaints, and uses to display the planters she made him. 

He doesn't realize how much he misses having his hands in dirt until he's potting flowers, and his mornings begin earlier after that. It's nice to start his day with something peaceful and steady, and it's interesting, too, to get to know his neighbors in the early hours before most of the city begins to truly bustle. There's an elderly man who comes out every morning at the same time to get his newspaper in a thready old robe, and Dedue hasn't failed to notice that he times it so that he can wave to the kids down the street before they get on the bus. A grandparent, maybe. The warmth of the gesture makes him miss home, but the ache of it is a good one. There are even some early morning joggers, and Dedue admires their dedication.

One is particularly devoted, he's found, and is regular enough that he could set his watch by the runner's routine. It's nice - finding a place for himself, recognizing patterns, wondering where he fits into the patterns of other people's lives. Does the dark-haired runner notice the tall man out watering his plants every morning? Has he ever seen the man in his robe, newspaper tucked under his arm, waving at the kids? 

It's nice to occupy a space and wonder.

*

Having his own routine is nice, too. He read somewhere that it takes an average of sixty-six days for something to become habit, and a few months in, he wakes three minutes before his alarm and starts his day the same way. Once, he accidentally catches the runner's eye, but it's too quick for Dedue to muster a smile even if he'd wanted to greet him, and he thinks nothing of it. A few days later, the runner is joined by a partner, an interesting blip in the comforting monotony that his mornings have become. The companion runner doesn't seem to be as intense as the original; Dedue can hear them coming before they turn the corner, conversation punctuated by the sharp inhale of breath necessary when trying to run and talk.

"-don't even know what this is punishment for, Fe, but consider me - hey, handsome - punished!"

Dedue is surprised by the break mid-sentence, and a little embarrassed to have been caught looking. Before he drops his gaze, though, he catches a wink, and as the sound of their footfalls and conversation fade away, he smiles a little.

*

The redhead isn't there the next few days. The black-haired man - Fe - doesn't ever speak to him, but one day, he does slow for a moment when he notices Dedue setting out food for the cats in the alley. 

The next day, they're both out. Dedicated as usual, one runs ahead, but as Dedue is testing the soil on his parsley, he becomes aware of eyes on him. He glances over, watering can in one hand and the fingers of the other a half inch into the dirt, and sees the red-haired man jogging in place on the sidewalk in front of his patio.

He's wearing a tight black athletic shirt, one of his lime green earbuds standing out starkly against his chest where it dangles, and the look on his face is open and inviting. Curious.

"Hi."

One word, and Dedue feels abruptly underdressed in his well-worn flannel pajama bottoms and faded band tee shirt.

After a moment's pause, he returns, "Good morning."

The smile that breaks out over the other man's face completely transforms it, but as he opens his mouth, a voice calls back to them, "I'm leaving you here, Sylvain!"

He laughs, expression falling comically, and offers, "I'm Sylvain. See you around, if you come here often," and then, with a wink, he takes off again.

*

Eventually, Felix changes his route. Dedue learns that is his name - and that he's a habitual early morning runner, and he'd been trying to get Sylvain out of the house they share for months, but running for fun had always been a foreign concept to him... until he'd found a route with the right scenery, he'd said, and Dedue had been amused despite himself at the obviousness of the line. Despite not having a running partner anymore, Sylvain still shows up most mornings. As the weather edges from warm to hot, even first thing in the morning, the hemline of his shorts inch up too; Dedue does not comment on it, but Sylvain notices him noticing.

Little by little, Dedue shares tidbits of his own life, too. Sylvain begins to show up earlier and earlier in the morning, and Dedue rises earlier and earlier to meet him; his plants are getting more attention than they ever have. Still, their meetings remain short, because Dedue still has a restaurant to open and Sylvain has his own business to attend to, as well. 

When summer's heat rolls in with a fury, Dedue buzzes down his hair on both sides and pulls what's left of it back into a bun. Sylvain, in neon orange shorts and a shirt that says _Hooters_ across his pecs, compliments him until he blushes, a feat that hasn't been accomplished since high school. He suggests that Dedue try different things with it, offers to help him braid his hair -

"I've got nimble fingers," and they're held up, wiggled between the two of them for emphasis.

Dedue laughs. "Go finish your run."

*

Sylvain has casually asked him out half a dozen times and Dedue has just as casually sidestepped every offer by the time summer comes to a close. It isn't because he lacks interest - he's noticed a great many things about Sylvain, from the way he obviously cares about his appearance even if he complains about the exercise to the bob of his throat when he throws his head back and really _laughs_. At first, it is just nice to flirt and be flirted with; he doesn't get the impression that Sylvain is looking for anything serious, and truth be told, neither is he. But as time goes on, he finds himself dissatisfied with the boundary line drawn in the sand between them, and he decides to do something about it.

As Sylvain turns ready to leave, Dedue waits until he has his back to ask, "Would you like to have lunch with me?"

It's worth it to see the way that Sylvain's feet stutter, surprise making him indecisive on whether he wants to stop or proceed. He catches himself with grace after only a moment, but Dedue can't help but smile. It's nice to throw someone like Sylvain off his game once in a while.

"Yeah, of course, gorgeous. When and where?"

Prepared, Dedue picks up the sharpie he'd brought outside with him and takes Sylvain's hand, turning his arm over. It's an excuse to touch him, and they are both aware of it; Sylvain's fingertips tickle the underside of Dedue's forearm as he writes his number down.

"Text me and we can arrange something," he says, closing the pen cap with a click.

Sylvain raises his arm to just about eye level, twisting it to and fro to admire Dedue's neat, simple handwriting. "You'll definitely be hearing from me."

Dedue smiles. "I look forward to it."

* 

Some weeks later, their morning routine hasn't changed that much. Dedue gets up early and starts coffee, and he goes out to his patio to water the herbs and flowers. Sylvain puts on tiny pairs of shorts and obscenely fitted shirts, and he goes for a morning run - only now, there are days Sylvain starts at the patio instead of making it his midpoint. 

It's nice to have a routine.

It's better to disrupt it, he's found.


End file.
